Google Zeitgeist highlights top searches of 2013, from Mandela to Batkid

Google has posted its traditional year-end Zeitgeist this morning offering a glimpse at the people, places, and moments that captured the world’s attention throughout the year. The company claims this is their most global Zeitgeist to date with over a thousand top 10 lists across several categories in 72 countries.

On a global scale, former South African President Nelson Mandela, who died earlier this month, was the top trending search this year as the world turned to Google to learn more about Madiba and his legacy. Actors Paul Walker and Cory Monteith, who also tragically passed away in 2013, were second and fourth on the list respectively. Meanwhile the iPhone 5s and Harlem Shake took third and fifth. Rounding out the top ten trending search terms were Boston marathon, Royal baby, Samsung Galaxy S4, PlayStation 4, and North Korea.

The compilation includes top lists for a range of categories such as movies, TV shows, events, consumer electronics, people and more. It gets much more specific by country. In the US, for example, you can get a quick glimpse at the most searched for car company (Tesla), restaurant (Nobu), NBA player (Derrick Rose), tech gadget (iPad mini), video game (Grand Theft Auto V), “what is” query (twerking) and so on.

A more visual top 100 compilation is available as well in the form of an endless collage of images you can scroll through and click on to learn more, covering everything from the Government shutdown in #13 to Microsoft’s Xbox One in #19, Windows 8.1 in #50, Bitcoin in #96, and Batkid in #100. Lastly, there’s also an interactive 3D global map showcasing the top search trends of 2013 by day in cities around the world.